Everything You Thought You Knew
by Ripped-Psyched
Summary: Kara Thrace is accused of being a cylon, can Lee and Carrie find out who it really is before it's too late?
1. Default Chapter

Authors Note: LieutenantCarrie Diarta is my made-up for the Battlestar Galactica RPG. However in this story her whole background has been changed. This doesn'treallyfollow the rpg or the series, so just read and take it as it is. Oh and thankyou to Sara who's characters I've either borrowed or probably will soon :oP Enjoy.

* * *

The Scientists Symposium was a huge event for the scientists of the twelve colonies. Every three years, they would gather to have experiments, demonstrations and share data. And every three years there would be smiles, heartaches, blood, sweat and tears. For the die-hard scientists there were hardcore studies, years of work condensed into three inch thick, almost incomprehensible, reports. For the less involved - more playful - scientists there were fun, bars and 'games'. For scientists like Gaius Baltar there were women. Lots of women.

And it was women he was watching at the bar that night. A cocktail in one hand and a copy of 'George B. Stein - Cylons; our wayward children' being held open on the bar-top with the other. Every few minutes someone would stop to greet and congratulate him on his latest piece of work, something he had thrown together in the few weeks leading up to the symposium so that no-one would focus on his work on the defence mainframe. This year it had been a behaviour chip, which claimed it would have prevented the cylons from turning on their creators. It might have been a pile of bullshit but Gaius Baltar was brilliant at bullshitting.

"Hello Gaius." The voice was gentle although there was a slight rough edge on the 'G' which almost made him shiver. The book closed and he picked up his cocktail as he pivoted on the barstool.

"Hello." He gave that charming smile that had gotten him through many an interview and took in the woman before him. Blonde, amazing figure, pretty with a dark red dress that clung and showed a hell of a lot but still managed to keep him guessing. She was nearly beautiful. "Can I get you a drink?"

The woman sat on the opposite stool, one arm casually resting on the bar. She nodded, that hand sliding along the bar-top to pull his book towards her. "Wayward children." She read, a brief smile crossing her lips. Gaius, totally oblivious to what she found humorous, smiled along with her, taking in the way she looked. "Cylons aren't wayward. They have their own reasons for their course of action."

"Ah yes, but until we know their reasons we will continue to call them 'wayward'. It's like 'innocent until proven guilty'. We humans categorise things, and until the cylons tell us otherwise, we will categorise them as wayward. After all, they are indeed errant and in some twisted way they are humanities children. Don't you think Miss…ah…?"

That small smile returned again as 'the woman' held out a hand. "Naomi Six." Gaius kissed her knuckles and turned to the barman, ordering offhandedly "Another Blue Gemon cocktail and whatever Miss Six would like."

'Naomi' smiled. Secretly she liked the way he said 'Six', the way he looked, the way he casually finished the cocktail he'd been drinking when she had arrived and set the glass down. But Six knew it wasn't right to 'like' anything. She had no emotions or so she had been told. "Red Flame" She ordered, her gaze firmly on Gaius. "Errant?"

"Well they did try and kill us all, did they not?" Gaius chuckled.

"Maybe they had reason."

"Maybe they did. They still need to capitulate or be destroyed. I doubt the Cylons - unlike most humans apparently - believe in 'let sleeping dogs lie'. If we leave them they will surely attack again. As fascinating as Cylons are, I vote we destroy them."

"If Humans want Cylons destroyed, who's to say that your 'God' doesn't want you destroyed? What if Cylons are - essentially - his creation, his tool to wipe out the human race. Humans have done wrong in the past, it is plausible their creator would like to destroy them. Purge the evil and corrupt from the universe." Six was finding all this terribly amusing but she kept that to herself. He'd find out soon enough.

Gaius' brow visibly creased as he thought this one over for a second. The conversation was getting too deep. Way too much thinking involved for a conversation with a beautiful woman. But she was…intriguing, he had to admit. Without looking, he picked up the cocktail the barman had set down and took a sip. "How can someone as beautiful and intelligent as yourself believe so wholeheartedly in a God and his plan for mankind?"

Six mimicked Gaius' movements, smoothly lifting the glass and taking a sip without glancing down once. Tracing a finger around the edge of the glass, she raised a brow slightly. A puzzling human habit. "I never once said I **believed **in a god Gaius."

"You didn't have to. It's evident by the way you talk about 'Him'."

"You don't believe in a God at all?"

"No. I don't believe that one superior, all powerful, master creator can exist. Who would be his creator? Who could create the most powerful being in the universe? For there to be someone more powerful would be a contradiction, then you would never truly have THE most powerful being because there would always be someone stronger. It's an unending circle. It's totally implausible."

"And yet billions believe in him. They pray to him and to his children - humanities forefathers - the Holy Lords. How can Billions be wrong Gaius?" Six rested the glass back down on the bar-top and leant one arm against it, one leg crossed over the other, trying to look both interested and casual at the same time. She was quite proud of herself. He seemed to like her. Had he not, they would have had to bring in someone else. Possibly Nine. Although, Baltar didn't seem the type to be attracted to vulnerability, which Nine 'specialised' in.

"We have been wrong before…ah….Naomi." She noted how he had to search for her name. According to their records, Gaius Baltar had had many women. Too many to remember immediately.

He would not forget her.

"Six" She watched as he frowned and then nodded, apparently he was used to women requesting to be called something other than their forename. "I prefer Six. Naomi is too…human?" This got a smirk but he nodded again.

"Human. I understand what you mean. Sometimes it's easier to act inhuman than have those feelings and such. I can't help but think sometimes that the Cylons have the right idea. No emotions, no fragile body, no-one superior to you-"

"Except…" Six cut in, half grinning. Baltar smiled back, rolling his eyes and taking a sip from his glass.

"Ah, yes, 'God'. How could I forget?(!)" The pair sat in silence for the next 10 minutes. Six devising ways and means of getting close to someone so cold and…'Cylon-like' as Gaius Baltar, Gaius wondering how he'd possibly get someone as intelligent as Naomi Six to just come home and get into bed with him. That was the problem with intelligent women, they always wanted more. They thought too much and became clingy, demanded love and respect. Pretty girls in expensive bars with their 'boyfriend of the week' at their side didn't want any of that, all they wanted was a ride home in the morning.

Or so Gaius liked to think.

He was just weighing up his options; get her drunk or forget her and move onto another, less intelligent, female, when Six spoke. That low, seductive voice, the edge on the 'G'…

"Gaius? Let's leave here now."

* * *

"Twenty four" 

"Thirty six"

"Twenty eight, anymore and I'm folding." His gruff voice made Carrie laugh as she nodded and threw in twenty eight 'cubits', which in reality where just matchsticks they had found hidden away in Adama's office. "Come on Sir, you know as well as I do that is not how you raise in this game."

Adama looked over his cards and put down one, slapping another one down on top almost immediately. "New world, new rules." He mumbled, trying to figure out which card to drop next.

It had been five long weeks since they had last encountered any cylons and for the last three everyone had had a large amount of downtime. While everyone else slept or hung out in the recreation areas, Adama had found himself with an office full of people.

Apparently Lee had be the one to tell everyone it was his birthday and a small private party had been arranged. Lee, Kara, Tigh, President Roslin, Carrie and of course Billy, had all turned up in his office. A small cake had been made with the limit amount of food stores available to them and a bottle of ambrosia had been hunted down. Three hours later and everyone was gone, Lee and Kara deciding to check over the vipers after escorting the President and Billy back to their shuttle.

Carrie had stayed behind, cleaning up the dishes and glasses, generally tidying the small office which was all Adama had of a home now. "Ever played Picon Debtmaker?" She had asked, holding up a box of matches and he shook his head, instantly providing a pack of original Geminon gaming cards. "Can't be that hard…"

An hour later and Adama had lost most of his matchsticks, resorting to haggling to try and retain what little dignity he had left. "Full colours. I win."

This had gotten another laugh as Carrie slapped her hand down. "Full colours."

"Is not!"

"Is so!" Pointing to each card in turn, Carrie shrugged. "We're playing Picon Debtmaker, not pyramid Sir. THIS is full colours. In Pyramid you actually have to have full colours, in PDM it's kind of a… Well full colours really means to have at least four cards of the same colour. That beats your Pyramid based full colours. Told you it was a hard game…"

"It's a foolish game." It was a strange sight, seeing a grown man pout like a five year old as he filled his tumbler with a little more of the ambrosia. He held out the bottle in offering but Carrie shook her head, capping it instead.

"So, what did you want to talk about Sir?" He gave her a puzzled look and she gestured to the cards. "You don't learn 'foolish' new games with pilots you hardly know just for the fun of it, do you?" At his silence, she nodded. "Thought so."

"Lieutenant, you were on that recon mission with Lee and Kara three years ago, you saw those human looking cylons… I would talk to Lee and Kara but… Maybe you could tell me whatever I need to know?"

Gathering the cards and reshuffling them, Carrie seemed thoughtful for a moment. She split the matchsticks into two piles, one for each of them, and tilted her head. "Choose your game, Sir."

"Half-Pyramid." Adama answered immediately, taking the cards up as she dealt them out. Half-Pyramid was for two players only, and was almost as intense as it's original parent-game. As soon as they each picked up their cards, the betting started, matchsticks being randomly thrown in with no verbal tallying.

"What do you need to know?"

"Everything. I wasn't told much, they thought I was too close to it because Lee and Zak was there-"

"They were right." Carrie moved the cards in her hand around and put one down, picking up another. "Hell, everyone was too close. The whole of the frakkin colonies were too close. There's not much to tell you Sir. There were Cylons, Me and Kara got out, had to go back for Lee, everyone survived-" She looked up, eyes wide as she realised what she had said. It had only been a week or two later that Zak had died. "Sorry, Sir."

"It's in the past." Adama said simply, throwing in some more matchsticks. "And please, stop with the 'Sir', if I hear it one more time I'll start thinking that was my given name(!)"

"I'll stop if you never ever call me Lieutenant again. Nightsky is fine." She threw in some matchsticks and raised him a few more. "So now that we've established everything about the Cylons is and was too close for comfort, what did you need to know?"

"What happened."

"I told you what happened."

"No," He put down a card and picked another of the pile. "You told me what everyone else told me, Admiral Nagala included. I want to know what they thought so 'important' that they hid it from me."

Carrie stayed quiet for a while as they played, finally speaking when she called the hand. "There was a Cylon copy of Lee. Two pair."

Adama watched as she laid the hand down, putting his down soon after. "Three on the run." He stared blankly at the matchsticks for a while, unsure what to say. A Cylon copy of Lee? That was a terrifying thought. Much too close for comfort. "What about you and Kara?"

"Not that we know of. I don't remember them doing anything but…" She shrugged "Can't be sure." Watching his expression, a mix of worry and fear, Carrie decided to say something to reassure him. "They aren't cylons Commander, trust me…"

"Of course." He gathered the matchsticks and put them back into their box, keeping one out to light the cigar he dug out of the drawer. Taking a puff, he watched Carrie pack away the cards. "Thank you for telling me Nightsky."

"Anytime Commander…"

* * *

She was everywhere. Surrounding him, smothering him and yet so far away, all at the same time. She'd been gone for a few hours so far and Gaius had gotten some work done. By work he meant tests on a genuine Cylon detector - one that would actually detect Cylons. Six had found his work highly amusing. 'It will never work, Gaius.' She had told him 'Never. And you won't know why… It's a secret.' When he had asked what she meant, he had only received a smile and the sight of her walking away. 

He hoped she would stay away for a while longer. He was expecting a guest anytime now… There was a knock on the hatch and he smiled, looking around the room. No Six, perfect.

"Hello." He said simply, smiling at the woman on the other side of the door. She smirked and stepped through the hatch. "I was wondering when you would turn up…"

"You shouldn't keep 'expecting' me, I'll disappoint you one of these days Gaius." Kara cracked a smile and sat down on his desk chair. "So what are you working on this time Genius?"

Gaius shrugged and closed the folder on the desk in front of her, his other hand turning the chair around so she faced him. "Same old, same old. So have you just come to check up on me?"

"What do you think?"

"I think…" He trailed of and leant down to softly kiss her lips. "What do you say we-"

"Gaius…" He froze. That gentle voice, the edge on the 'G'. He didn't have to turn around to see who was sitting on the edge of the desk behind him. "There's someone coming." She said flatly, though he could swear he heard hurt in her voice.

Another knock at the hatch.

Kara raised a brow. "You expecting someone?" Gaius knew she didn't want anyone to find out about their 'meetings'. He wasn't too sure what their meetings were to be honest. At first it started out as just sex, wondering if they'd get 'caught'. Now it had changed into something…strange.

"No." Gaius went over and opened the hatch, frowning as an ensign shuffled nervously in front of him. "Commander Adama would like to see you in his office…Sir."

"See…ah, see me?" The ensign nodded, looking like a five year old caught scribbling on the wall and glanced around the corridor, waiting. "I'll be there…right away. Yes…" He closed the door before the boy could respond and leaned against it.

"Hmm…" He screwed his eyes shut, not wanting to see which of the women was about to speak. This was wrong, insanely wrong and yet there was something utterly fantastic about having two women who wanted to be with you in some way, whether or not one was only in your head.

"The Commander wants to see me."

"I heard." He could hear the smirk in Kara's voice, the sound of her boots on the metal flooring as she walked up and rested a hand against the hatch, beside his head. "Looks like we'll have to reschedule." She trailed a finger over his lips, almost gently, leaning in to kiss him deeply. "Go! You don't wanna keep the Commander waiting!"

Snorting as he held back a laugh, Gaius grabbed his jacket from the chair and headed out the hatch. He heard the hatch close behind him as Kara headed down the corridor in the opposite direction. "She's bad for you Gaius. And she'll hurt you. I won't hurt you, you know I won't-"

"You are in my head. You cannot satiate my body, you cannot give me anything I want in a woman. You are something to occupy my mind on those lonely nights when I am stressed and want nothing more than a physical release of any kind. Now if you'll excuse me, I have real people in the real world to see." He spoke calmly, waiting until her face fell before circling around the 'woman' and heading up towards the Commanders quarters.

"Do you love her Gaius? She doesn't love you. I love you Gaius, I want to be with you." Her words seemed to echo in the corridor as Gaius tried to block her out. She was his poison and his curse. She was the reason he was alive and living this hell.

As he approached the door, it opened, a young woman walking out. She nodded to him in greeting even though her expression was cold. He wondered why she didn't trust him - but then decided he wouldn't trust himself either.

"Doctor Baltar, come in." Adama stood at the hatchway, watching Gaius as he walked in and gingerly sat in a chair opposite the desk. Glancing around the room nervously, he noted that everything seemed the same as the last time he was in here. Why he cared, Gaius wasn't sure but it was comforting to know nothing had changed all the same. Adama came to sit on the other side of the desk, his cold blue eyes seeming to bore into the younger man. "How's it going with the Cylon detector Doctor?"

Pursing his lips a moment, Gaius nodded slowly. "Good. Very good. I-in fact I may have it done as soon as next-"

"Have it done? Gaius, you haven't gotten anywhere. It's all a waste of time." Six said into his ear, looking almost sad for him.

"Uh… A-as soon as next month." He finished, trying not to look at Six but his eyes kept darting towards her. Inwardly he reminded himself that she was only in his head but it didn't help, he had to look.

Adama just shook his head and looked down at his papers. This Baltar really was strange but he was the only genius they had, he'd have to do. "Good. Have you got everything you need?"

"A nuclear warhead would be good…" Six muttered, shrugging slightly when Gaius shot her a look.

"Yes Commander. I-I have everything I could possibly need. Thank you."

"Right, well that's all for now." He really didn't want the man around him. There was something beyond his obvious strangeness that rubbed Adama the wrong way.

"Y-yes Commander. Thank you." Gaius stuttered, scowling as Six laughed. He'd have to work on a way to get rid of her once this Cylon detector was completed.

As he closed the hatch behind him, he heard Six's parting sentence. "You're pathetic Gaius Baltar." She would probably be disappearing for a few hours now.

She did that a lot lately.

* * *

Lee looked between Sharon and Tyrol, shaking his head as he tried to fight a smile. The gimbal argument had evolved, varying slightly each time. Sometimes Sharon even threw in something about a fuel line or a damaged console, which always gave the other pilots a kick. Last time she had taken it a notch higher and insulted his ability as a Chief. It seemed the whole deck had frozen for a minute, not moving or uttering a word until the storage room hatch had slammed shut and Cally had taken up her position as guard outside it. Why she even bothered, Lee would never know. 

But this time was different. It was after the hatch had slammed shut, the racket resumed and Cally had taken up position, that hatch had suddenly flown open again. Yelping as she dodged out the way, Cally fell into Socinus, both of whom landed in a heap on the floor. Boomer emerged from the storage room, looking down at Cally blankly before walking towards her viper. Frowning, Lee put down what he was working on and turned to her, shoulders set back as he went into CAG mode. "Lt Valerii, I believe an apology is in order."

She turned, her eyes empty, void of feeling and emotion. "They were in the way. I have nothing to apologise for." Lee was struck by just how cold her voice was, matching her eyes perfectly. Lee watched as she pulled a stepladder over to her viper, intent on climbing inside. "Lieutenant, you don't have patrol for another fourteen hours." She ignored him, climbing in and pulling the canopy shut. Did she really think they'd just launch her? If her behaviour wasn't enough, there was also the fact she wasn't meant to be out there **and** her lack of safety gear. "Lt Valerii, get out of that viper immediately-"

He was cut off by a shriek coming from the direction of the storage room. Cally was sitting by an unconscious Tyrol, blood on her hands. "What happened?" Lee asked, pressing his hands down around the screwdriver in Tyrol's shoulder, trying to stop the wound from bleeding so much. She shook her head, staring down at the blood.

"He was just lying there…" She whispered, looking back at Tyrol for a split second before back to her hands, as if the blood was a more comforting sight. It probably was. "Boomer must have… She was the only one in here with him…"

Calling a few more deckhands in to tend to Tyrol while Doctor Salik and her med techs made their way there, Lee headed back out towards the vipers. Why would Boomer do this? Seeing the dark of her hair against the canopy, he stopped and called out. "Lt Valerii get out of that viper NOW!" No movement. "Boomer, NOW!" he tried again but still nothing. His brow creasing, Lee climbed up the stepladder and looked inside. Boomer was slumped over, her face looking almost serene. He sat her back in the seat and tilted her head back, checking her breathing and pulse. Everything was as it should be.

Standing on the ladder, he watched her until the med techs came for her too, laying the pilot out on a stretcher and taking her away to Lifestation. Socinus stood trying to convince Cally to go along to Lifestation with them but she dismissed him with a wave of her bloody hands and stalked off towards crew quarters.


	2. Chapter Two

Kara strode in a while later, arching a brow at all the whispering among the pilots and deckhands. Going over to a viper, she crouched down and peered underneath. "Hey Carrie, what's going on? Everyone's acting like we just found Earth or something…" Smirking, Carrie slid the body-board from under the viper and shook her head.

"You won't believe it; Sharon stabbed Tyrol with a screwdriver."

Watching for a moment, Kara tried to work out whether Carrie was telling the truth or messing with her. She eventually looked around and back again. "Frak! Why? Domestic?" At the shake of a head, Kara stood. "Where's Lee?"

"Playing the Boss Man I guess." Carrie shrugged and slid back under the viper. "So where you been?"

"Nowhere really…" She could almost hear the disbelieving snort she imagined Carrie gave. "What? It's true?"

"Uh-huh. Sure." There was a quiet laugh before Carrie re-emerged. "I've heard about your little visits to Dr Baltar, you feeling okay there Thrace?"

"Just peachy." She tried to hold back a blush, covering it up with a forced smirk. "You on patrol next?" Carrie shook her head, swapping the tool in her hand for another in the small toolbox. Kara glanced around the deck. "Then who's flying my wing?"

Another laugh and Carrie looked over the deck, towards the group of rookie pilots who were talking. "Constanza does get on your nerves right?(!)"

Rolling her eyes, Kara stepped back. "I better go see what the hell happened to Sharon. If I'm not back in twenty, cover me?" Carrie raised her eyebrows in disbelief. Kara had just casually asked her to cover an eight hour patrol, what did she think this was?!

"Sure, scoot. She's in Lifestation, don't ask." With a nod, Kara headed of the deck towards Lifestation and - hopefully - answers too.

* * *

Doc Salik had checked Sharon over and left her in the care of two marines. They were sitting just outside the curtains that where pulled around the bed, chattering away when Kara approached, straight from talking to a tech about Tyrol. "I need to see Lt Valerii."

"Sorry Sir, I can't let you do that." One of the marines said offhand, not even bothering to look up. He knew it was Kara Thrace and he knew he shouldn't let anyone, including her in to see the patient/crazy woman, but his twice broken nose told him to just let her pass.

"Kaluza, I'm not asking you. I'm telling you." Kara said simply, pushing past them and through the curtains.

"Who's that?" The other marine asked, eyeing her back practically throwing mental daggers at it.

"Thrace. You get brig duty alot right? You'll meet her properly soon enough…"

Sharon was lying in the bed, staring up at the ceiling, counting the tiles that she could see. One hand was absently tapping on the bed sheets, her hands and feet tied to the bedrails so she couldn't move. She had no idea why she was here, why she was restrained and quite frankly she didn't want to know. This wasn't the first blackout she'd had, in fact there had been at least six preceding it. Something caught her eye and she looked towards the end of the bed just in time to see a blonde woman slip between the curtains. As much as she tried to force it back, the question slipped through.

"Kara? Kara…why am I here?"

Sharon was asking HER?! Trying not to look as confused as she felt, Kara perched on the far edge of the bed. "What happened with Tyrol?" She watched as the younger pilots eyes widened, a mix of confusion and fear filling them.

"W-what do you mean?" Gods that didn't sound good. Trying desperately to remember in the hour or so between blacking out and waking up in Lifestation.

"You don't know?" Kara wondered if telling her was the right thing to do. It seemed like Sharon, normal, skittish, slightly naive Sharon but she couldn't be sure… "You stabbed Tyrol. Cally found him with a screwdriver in his shoulder…. What the hell happened Sharon?!"

Having listened very carefully to what Kara said, Sharon almost gave a disbelieving snort. Almost. It was the deadly serious look in the other woman's eyes that stopped her. Swallowing hard, she shrugged as much as she could, biting down on her lower lip.

"I don't know. I…I don't remember… Is he okay?" It worried her a little that that question came right at the end of her thoughts, that it hadn't been first and foremost in her mind. After all, she loved Galen more than anything, she wouldn't hurt him. "I didn't do it Kara."

The look in Sharon's eyes was heartbreaking. She looked so young, so innocent, so sad. "I want to believe you Sharon. I do…" Kara said simply before putting a more stoic mask in place, her voice changing to match. "The Chief is doing okay. He's had the necessary treatment and has been ordered to rest for thirty six hours absolute minimum. I suggest you rest too Sharon, there's alot of people who will want to talk to you." Giving her a small nod, Kara turned to leave. Things were just getting more and more frakked up.

* * *

Both Adama men sat in the Commanders office on opposite sides of the desk while Adama himself read over a report. "She stabbed him with a _screwdriver_?" He checked before going back to the piece of paper in his hands. "Any idea why?"

Lee shook his head, shifting uneasily in the chair. "Well…" He started, gesturing with his hands. "Lt Valerii and Chief Tyrol have been…having a 'relationship' for a while now according to…sources." He inwardly cringed, he couldn't tell his father that half the ship had known and no-one had told him.

"I know." The words caught Lee off-guard and Adama noted it. He often wondered if his son saw him the way he _imagined_ Lee saw him; as a silly old man. Putting the paper down onto the desk, Adama made a point of pulling his framed family portrait closer, watching as Lee shuffled in his seat again. They would need to talk soon. The problem was getting Lee to speak at all. "I've known for a while. It still doesn't explain why she would stab him."

"Lovers tiff? Difference in opinion? There's many reasons why a woman would want to stab her lover. A point to note however is that she stabbed him in the shoulder when she could have easily stabbed him somewhere that would cause more damage, like the chest. I believe she wasn't trying to kill him, she was just…angry."

"Angry pilots we don't need. Anger is a useful tool if it's moderated otherwise…" He let his sentence trail off as he signed the report and removed his reading glasses. "How is Chief Tyrol?"

"He's doing good. The impact was hard enough to break his clavicle. It was a clean break so the doctor fused it. There was some muscle and slight nerve damage but that should repair in time although…his arm may not regain it's full strength and function."

"Give him my best wishes. I'll see to it that Lt Valerii is fully checked over by both Dr Salik and a psychologist from the Lenna Dell. There must be a logical reason for her actions… We can only hope." Adama watched his son stand and give a small nod in acknowledgement.

"We can only hope." He repeated, knowing just what his father was thinking. Cylons looked like humans now… What if it were possible that Sharon Valerii was a- No. She was Kara's best friend, she couldn't possibly be a Cylon. "Thank you for your time Sir." He said, barely containing a yawn.

"I hope you have some downtime coming up Captain, you look exhausted."

"Yes Sir. I have ten hours off now in fact. I was thinking of going across to the Innersun, change of scenery and all."

"Sounds like a good idea." Adama said quietly, slipping his reading glasses back on. "I'll see you when you get back Captain."

Lee silently left his fathers office, wondering when they would finally be able to speak like father and son. Even before Zak's death they had never been particularly close. William Adama was the perfect hero, the man who every boy should aspire to be but always knew they wouldn't come close. He looked up in time to see a figure disappear around a corner, gesturing wildly with his hands. One more meeting before his little 'vacation' wouldn't go amiss.

* * *

"S-sit down Captain." Gaius gestured to a chair near his desk as he sat down himself. Pushing a few papers around the desk nervously, he pulled a cigar box from the top drawer with his other hand, pressing the open button and holding it out to Lee. "Cigar?"

"I don't smoke but thanks." Lee replied casually, looking around the large room which was half quarters, half office. The lab itself was through a hatch opposite the end of the bunk. It wasn't the type of place he expected Kara to be in. It was too much of a organised mess, if you didn't know Gaius Baltar then you would swear it was the office of a Cylon obsessed nut and if you did know him you'd think the same. Eyeing Gaius himself, Lee tried to see whatever She saw in him. He seemed…average in looks, his intelligence was more insanity and he had the shiftiest eyes this side of a Tauron thriller movie.

"So what can I do for you Captain?" The words sounded confident even if their owner looked scared frakless.

"Doctor, I know about you and Kara."

"You do?" Gaius seemed taken aback by Lee's blatant statement. He took one of the cigars and lit it, taking a deep drag, his confidence seeming to increase tenfold. "And?"

"And…I wanted to ask what your intentions where."

"Intentions? Captain, I have no idea how any of this concerns you. What me and Lt Thrace do is of no consequence to you or anyone else-"

A breeze brushed his neck, making the short hairs stand on end. He felt a hand settle on his shoulder, felt her breath against his ear as she spoke, that gentle voice, the edge on the 'G'. "Gaius don't talk to him. Make him leave. She's coming and you wouldn't want him to hurt you, would you?(!)"

"She…Kara?" He asked instinctively, cringing as Lee spun around to look at the door behind him, obviously assuming Kara herself had just walked in.

"What?" He asked, turning back around, more than a little pissed.

"I was just saying that Kara and I can do what we please, it's nothing to do with you. I am a civilian and we aren't breaking any rules-"

"You're breaking hearts though, aren't you Gaius?" Six grinned, standing behind Lee, her hands sliding over his shoulders and down his chest, leaning in to pretend to whisper in his ear. "Wait for it. Knock, knock, knock."

Right as she said that last 'knock', there came three raps at the hatch. Both men looked to the hatch and back to each other.

"You should get that." Lee said simply, standing and opening the hatch. He barely looked at the person that walked in. She did, however, notice him and frowned in confusion. "Hi Lieutenant. I was just passing by. Please, don't let me disturb you." He said with a hint of sarcasm, slipping out of the hatch and into the corridor.

Kara knew why he was acting like this. Some pathetic silent rule that said 'best friends share everything'. So she hadn't told him about her and Gaius, big frakkin deal. "Get over it Lee. It's nothing to do with you."

"That's just what I…said…." Gaius piped up, trailing of when Kara gave him a disapproving look.

"Whatever Kara. I've got work to do." The hatch slammed with a hollow, metallic ring.

Kara sat on the edge of Gaius' desk, batting his hand away as he moved to touch her own. Her eyes looked cold and he knew something was wrong, could hear Six standing behind him, her 'breathing' loud in his ears. "I-is something wrong?"

"Wrong?" Kara gave a small smile but there was something about it that just wasn't right. "Yes Gaius, there's something 'wrong'. I went to visit Chief Tyrol a few minutes ago. While we were talking, he remembered why Lieutenant Valerii stabbed him."

"Really?" Gaius held out his cigar to her, smiling as she leant forward and took it in her lips. "And the reason?"

It was a few minutes before Kara spoke, silently smoking the cigar, tapping one foot against the side of the desk. Just when he was getting impatient, she nodded towards his bunk. "Because he found explosives on her raptor and she told him she hadn't noticed them. When he said there was no way she could have missed them…she got angry. I think your friend there knows more than she's letting on though, she told me that Sharon was a scapegoat for the cylons."

"F-friend?" Gaius slowly turned to look towards his bunk, gasping quietly when he saw Six sitting there, smiling. He hurriedly turned back and shook his head. "Ah…w-what friend?"

"That friend." Kara didn't seem phased as she nodded towards the bunk again. "Nadine Six or something like that. I've seen her a few times now. At first I thought she was your assistant or something…" She smirked at the 'something', she had obviously thought they were something more. "Then I realised that no-one else could see her…except you."

"It's Naomi Six and yes, we were, and I suppose to some extent still are, 'something'." Gaius looked about ready to cry, looking between the two women like a rabbit caught in between two very fast moving cars with very bright headlights. "So come on, ask him." It was right about then that Gaius noticed something strapped to Kara's thigh, saw her reach for what was inside. Dear Lords, this was it.

Kara pulled the sidearm out and quite casually pointed it at his forehead, her other hand reaching up to take the cigar from between her lips as she licked them. "So…are you a Cylon?"

The words were trying to force their way out. Maybe he could pretend he couldn't see Six? Maybe if he put on the charm, she'd put the sidearm down and he wouldn't feel so damned terrified. Reaching out slowly, he touched her leg, his eyes focusing on hers best they could. "Kara, you know that I am not a Cylon. H-how could I be?! This is ridiculous. Just put the gun down and I'll pretend you never did this, okay? I-it never happened. I'm quite sure the Commander wouldn't want to hear that his best pilot was going a little stir-crazy-"

"I'M NOT…crazy." He gulped again, cowering back away from the gun…and from her. He knew that if she wanted to, Kara could probably kill him with her bare hands. Not a pleasant thought. "I'll ask you again; Are you a Cylon?"

"NO!"

Kara glanced at Six and back again, obviously unimpressed. "Then why don't I believe you?" Grabbing him by the throat, she dragged him out of his chair and threw him to the ground. "What really gets me, is how I can see her. Think you can answer that genius? How can I see her?" He shook his head vigorously, scrambling back against the bunk. "You don't know? Oh come on! Cylons must share their secrets…" A kick to the abdomen and he instinctively curled up in a ball.

"Kara…please…"

"Please? Please what? Please don't hurt you? Please don't blow whatever the frak it is you call a brain out of your head? Sorry, I don't listen to begging by Cylons." Another kick, this time to his lower back and Gaius rolled onto his back, hands still clamped over his abdomen. "Aww is it hurting? Why don't you just turn of the part of your 'brain' that feels pain? It can't be that hard…" A part of her felt sorry for the figure lying on the floor, wondered just how human he really was. He sure had felt human, smelled, tasted, touched like a human.

He had lied to her. Misled her.

She kicked him again, not caring if his hands were in the way or not. There was a dull crack as the wrist of his right hand snapped with the impact, his whole body rolling onto its side, head rested against the floor at an angle, a cry of pain as tears flooded into his eyes.

"Come on Gaius! Genius… Turn the programming off!"

His voice was shaky, a slight gurgling sound surrounding it as blood forced its way up into his throat. "I'm not….a Cylon…" He managed to force out, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. A hand reached out to wipe it away, smiling as her fingers came away clean.

"Actually Gaius, you are."

His eyes flashed up to look at Six but she was gone. "I-I'm not…" He whispered, spitting a little blood onto the metal deck. "Kara…please….stop…" She took a step back, something in his eyes catching her off-guard. Something human and… A trick. She drew back a leg, kicking him hard in his ankles, his thighs. Gaius had all but resigned to an early death when he heard a knock at the hatch. "HELP ME! SHE'S TRYING TO KILL ME! SHE'S A CYLON!"

Kara's eyes shot to the hatch and back again. The hatch started to open and she gave the doctor one last kick in his groin as she stepped back, smirking.

The hatch flung wide open, a figure freezing in the hatchway. "Doctor Baltar? What…" Gaeta looked up at the Lieutenant, obviously confused. She put her cigar, half burnt out, to her lips and took a drag.

"He's the frakkin Cylon."

* * *

Eight hours. Eight long hours sat in a viper cockpit, with nothing but the wide expanse of space to look at. As much as Carrie liked watching the stars, eight hours was enough to drive her insane. Waiting for the Viper to be pulled back onto the deck and the ladder set up, she slowly climbed out and stood for a minute, trying to get the blood flowing back to her legs fully before walking anywhere.

"CARRIE!"

She jumped a little at the shout, frowning as she looked at the man running towards her. First names on deck, must be important. "Lee, where's the fire?!"

He skidded to a stop and took a moment to catch his breath. "Kara….She…."

"Is she okay?!"

"Yeah, yeah….she….Baltar said she was a Cylon, they're in lockup."

Carrie eyed him for a moment as she pulled of her gloves and the top of her flight suit. "A Cylon huh?" She asked, almost rhetorically, starting for the hatch. "How'd he come up with that?"

"No idea. Kara went to see him and next thing I know, I'm being told how Gaeta found him beat senseless. Kara said something about Baltar being a Cylon and some woman in his head…" He babbled as he followed her. If the situation wasn't so serious, Carrie would have laughed at the look of utter confusion on his face.

"It's okay Lee. We'll sort this out." She slipped through the hatch and started down towards Alpha pilots quarters. "So why'd you come to find me?"

He gave her a total 'are you kidding?!' look and shrugged. "You were there on that mission, you can back me up when I say that there's no way Kara's a Cylon."

"I already told the Commander there was no way she was a Cylon."

"You did?!" He narrowed his eyes a little, pushing open the door to quarters and holding it. "When did you two talk about that?"

"Earlier. After the party. We played cards and had a chat." She pulled some clean duty clothes out of her locker and dropped them on the bunk, grabbing a towel and her shower bag. "Three minutes." She disappeared into the showers.

Lee sat down on Kara's bunk and waited, looking around at the things she kept on her little shelf. A little more curious than he ought to be, he opened her locker and took a look. A picture on the mirror caught his eye and he pulled it off, staring at it intently. He almost didn't hear Carrie come back in. "She loves that picture."

He started and turned, spinning back around quickly when he saw her in the towel. "Sorry."

"Nothing you haven't seen before. So what will they do now? I mean, if the Doc's locked up too, there's no-one to carry on working on the Cylon detector…"

He shrugged and sat back down on the bunk, putting his head in his hands. "I don't know. I can't believe my father is even considering the possibility of her-"

"He has a job to do Lee." Carrie pointed out, pulling on her boots and grabbing her jacket. "How's Chief Tyrol doing?" She buckled her holster on, slipping the sidearm into it.

"He's good, resting up. Chief Lewis has taken on most of his shifts for the next few days." Chief Aidan Lewis had come aboard not long after the initial attacks. A crew Chief on the Verona, he had been convinced to take his first vacation in five years, ending up on the luxury liner The Innersun. Within two weeks, he was on the Galactica working for Chief Tyrol.

"That man's gonna work himself to an early death." Carrie muttered, pulling open the hatch and waiting for Lee to go through.

"So what happened with you and him?" At her surprised expression, Lee smiled a little. "You thought I didn't know?"

Carrie couldn't help but smile back. "I forget, you know everything. It was nothing major. Come on, let's go see Kara."

* * *

"You're frakkin kidding me right?"

Adama just stared blankly at Kara.

"Come on Bill! You know I'm not a Cylon! I'm Kara Thrace, viper pilot, pain in the butt, I was engaged to your son! If anyone believes me, it's you!"

It was hard to watch her behind those bars, protesting her innocence. Each time he had seen her there before, it was for something small, insubordination, maybe a random act of violence….but this time….

"I can't just take your word for it Kara. Believe me, I want to, but it would be irresponsible of me to do that. Besides, these Cylons may not necessarily know they're Cylons-"

"I'M NOT A CYLON!" There were almost tears in her eyes as Kara fought to control her anger. "Bill…I'm not a Cylon. Ask Lee, ask Carrie, come on! You know I'm not!" She watched, pained, as he took a step back from the bars and instinctively reached out, grabbing his hand. The three marine guards all raised their weapons.

"Let go of him Kara." Lee said flatly, she looked up to see him and Carrie, the latter with a sidearm trained on her. Slowly letting go of his hand, she took a step back, closer to the bunk.

"What-…Carrie. Don't."

Watching Kara for a moment, Carrie holstered the sidearm. "Precautionary measure. How you doing?"

"Just frakkin peachy(!) Come on, tell them that I'm not a Cylon."

"Commander, she's not a Cylon. We talked about this."

Adama sighed and sat down on a chair. "Nightsky, We can't just take the word of three people. We need proof. Tangible proof and we haven't yet figured out a way get that proof.-"

The next few seconds went by in a blur. There was a sound, an explosion, loud almost deafening. The marines nearest the hatchway were thrown back inside as Lee and Carrie hit the floor. Kara fell back against the bunk, curling up into a ball. Adama, who was shielded by the bulkhead, hit the floor at an angle, managing to support himself before he hit his head on anything. Dust and debris flew into the brig, covering everything. There was a low rumble then… Nothing.

A choked cough and Lee crawled forwards, pulling himself towards his Father. "Dad? Dad are you okay?!" The older man stirred, turning slightly and nodding, sitting up.

"I'm okay…" They both looked to the cell, Lee scrambling forwards again.

"Kara?" She winced a little as she sat up, leaning back against the bunk.

"Frak me! What was that?!"

Both of their attention turned to Carrie as she stood up and went to check the marine guards, cringing as she saw that one only had the remnants of what used to be a head. "Both dead. Anyone hurt?"

Adama got to his feet and looked at Lee, Kara and the one remaining marine guard. "I don't think so. I should report into CIC-"

"You stay right here Sir."

"But-"

"She's right Dad. We'll get marines and a bomb team down here. If they were aiming for you we can't let them get another shot in."

With a resigned nod, Adama pulled his chair further from the cell and sat down, watching as the pair left.

Kara sat back on the bunk, feeling completely useless. They didn't believe her. Everyone thought she was a Cylon! She briefly wondered about Gaius, over there in that secure holding cell. He was the real Cylon, him and that 'apparition'.

"Oh, I AM real." Six said with a smile, standing by the bars. She took a few steps towards the bunk, stopping when Kara stood up menacingly. "What? Are you going to hit me now? You can try…"

Kara's fist flew forward, aiming for the woman's face but it was stopped before it could reach, by a hand on her wrist. Gulping, she looked up at the woman who had taken on a colder, more devious appearance. She shivered as the woman leant forwards and planted a barely there kiss on her lips, moving quickly as Kara lashed out with her other hand. "A word of warning Kara, you go near Gaius again and I will kill you. I promise you that."

As suddenly as she appeared, Six was gone. Kara sunk back down onto the bunk and looked across at Adama, who was staring wide-eyed.

"You try to fight thin air often Kara?"


End file.
